San Jose Municipal Code Part 7 Filling of Vacancies

Whenever a vacancy in the classified service is to be filled, the city manager or designee shall notify the director and request to fill the position.

(Prior code § 2007.2; Ord. 26850.)

Except as otherwise provided elsewhere in the civil service rules, all vacancies shall be filled by qualified candidates through a process approved by the director. The director shall forward qualified candidate names to the hiring department for interview and selection consideration to adequately meet the operational needs of the city.

(Prior code § 2007.1; Ord. 26850.)

A. The director is responsible for setting standards in the hiring process, assuring reasonable adherence to standards, providing quality control, and taking any corrective action, up to and including the annulment of an entire recruitment, screening, and selection process.

B. The director shall establish training standards for the hiring process and ensure that any city representative participating in the hiring process, including recruiting, screening and selection, is adequately trained.

C. The director shall develop standards and guidelines to ensure that candidates are evaluated in an open and fair process where standards are applied in a consistent manner. The director may delegate portions of the hiring process to the hiring department, based on the director's judgment that the hiring department has met training and proficiency standards in carrying out the hiring process.

D. The director shall provide an annual evaluation report to the commission on the hiring process over the prior year, including hiring information for each department.

(Ord. 26850.)

A. As an alternative to the city's standard (competitive) recruitment process, and under policies and standards established by the director, a position may be filled through merit-based, non-competitive selection processes. All non-competitive recruitment processes and appointments must be approved by the director.

1. Circumstances that require a non-competitive appointment include:

a. Cessation of eligibility for disability retirement benefits under any retirement plan of the city and eligibility for reemployment;

b. Return to former class due to inability to successfully complete probation for a promotion;

c. Reallocation of an occupied position;

d. Return from unclassified service (as provided by Charter Section 1105), if the employee has not been guilty of infamous, disgraceful or dishonest conduct;

e. Reinstatement of employees who have been laid off.

2. Circumstances allowing for but not requiring a non-competitive appointment may include, but are not limited to:

a. Reemployment within three years of a positive separation from the city, if the employee had permanent status;

b. Voluntary demotion;

c. Return to former class, except where separation from the previous class was based on a disciplinary demotion or dismissal;

d. Promotion in a flexibly-staffed position;

e. Transfers;

f. Modified duty placement;

g. Appointments to meet the needs of the city as determined by the director.

B. The director shall report to the commission the number and type of non-competitive appointments at each regular commission meeting.

(Ord. 26850.)

Hiring activities and decisions shall be conducted in a manner consistent with Charter provisions regarding selection based on merit and fitness, and consistent with local, state, and federal laws, statutes, and regulations governing employment.

(Ord. 26850.)

A. No employee shall appoint, employ or participate in a hiring decision involving any person within his/her immediate family, nor use his/her position to influence another city employee to hire a member of his/her immediate family.

B. For the purposes of this policy, immediate family is defined as wife, husband, domestic partner, mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter; mother/father/brother/sister/son/daughter-in-law; grandmother/father/son/daughter; step-mother/father/son/daughter; uncle, aunt, niece or nephew. These familial relationships include blood, marriage and domestic partner-based relationships.

C. A domestic partner, as referenced above, must be the domestic partner registered with the employee services department.

D. At the employee services director's discretion, he/she may correct or halt a recruitment or appointment process if necessary to prevent selections that are inconsistent with a determination of merit and fitness.

(Prior code § 2007.13; Ord. 26850.)

A. All probationary appointments shall be tentative and subject to successful completion of a probationary period. Except in the case of persons who are employed for a seasonal term, paid at a daily rate of pay, and supervised, controlled and observed during substantially more than eight hours per workday, such probationary period shall not be less than six months of actual service, and in the case of such seasonal employees, the probationary period shall not be less than one entire season of employment.

B. The commission may, by resolution, establish a longer probationary period, not to exceed twelve months of actual service, for such classes as it may specify, if it deems that such longer period of time is reasonably necessary to fulfill the objectives of the probationary period.

C. The above provisions shall not apply to any temporary appointment.

(Prior code § 2007.8; Ords. 24634, 26850.)

The director shall establish the probationary review system, including the standards for probationary evaluation and probation extension, and shall ensure compliance. The hiring department must evaluate and recommend whether a probationary employee passes probation. The probationary period shall be regarded as a part of the assessment process and shall be utilized for closely observing the employee's work and for securing the most effective adjustment of a new employee to his/her position.

(Prior code § 2007.9; Ord. 26850.)

A. During the probationary period, an employee may be rejected at any time by the appointing power without cause and without the right of appeal. Notification of rejection in writing shall be served on the probationer and a copy filed with the director.

B. A permanent employee who is rejected during a probationary period in a higher or lateral class shall be reinstated to a position in his/her former class or to a class deemed comparable by the director.

(Prior code § 2007.10; Ord. 26850.)